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Land near reservoir pulled from CO energy auction

DENVER — Two parcels next to a reservoir that supplies water to Denver won’t be auctioned off for oil and gas development next week.

A spokeswoman for the Colorado State Land Board said today that staffers have removed the land near Antero Reservoir from the list of parcels to be auctioned.

The announcement follows concerns raised by a citizens group. Be the Change pressed for a moratorium on leases in the area until more is known about how drinking water might be affected by hydraulic fracturing, a technique for extracting oil and natural gas.

The State Land Board manages more than 4 million acres of mineral rights that the federal government granted to Colorado to generate money for schools and other institutions. It plans to auction more than 100 parcels around the state next Thursday.